Singles Play Propels Men's Tennis to Victory

Giancarlo Lemmi is a combined 8-2 this season, with a 4-1 mark in both singles and doubles play.

Victories in five of the six singles matches led the Liberty men's tennis team to a 5-2 win over Georgia Southern, Saturday, in a neutral-site contest played at East Carolina's Indoor Tennis Center.

The Flames move to 3-2 with the victory, while Georgia Southern's fifth consecutive loss drops the team's record to 1-5.

Opening with doubles, the Eagles gained the 1-0 advantage by taking the No. 1 and No. 2 matches. The victory from Georgia Southern's No. 2 duo of Alain Garrido and Andrew Dromsky handed Giancarlo Lemmi and Wayne Harrell's their first defeat as a pair.

Liberty's Shea Thomas and Dillon Segur claimed the No. 3 match, 8-3, defeating Marco Osorio and Albert Codina Sala to improve their record to 3-1 as a duo.

Despite facing a 1-0 deficit, the Flames rebounded quickly in singles play and claimed the team victory before Georgia Southern could tally another team point.

The first match to go final saw Liberty senior Lemmi knock off Codina Sala, 6-2, 6-2, in the No. 3 match for his fourth singles win of the season.

Next, Siim Tuus scored a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the lead match, defeating Garrido. The win was also his fourth singles victory of the year.

With momentum in their hands, the Flames continued to push toward victory, as Thomas claimed another straight-set win, outhitting Verdam, 6-4, 6-2.

After a pair of wins in yesterday's match, freshman Wayne Harrell continued his strong play, and served up the match-clinching singles victory. Playing in the No. 6 slot, the freshman defeated Sebastien Felt, 6-2, 6-3.

Tristan Stayt claimed a hard-fought win in the No. 4 match for the Flames, 7-5, 4-6, 10-8, over Hoffman, while the Eagles' sole singles victory came in the No. 5 match, which also went into a deciding third set.

Liberty now has nearly a two week layoff before its next competition. On Saturday, Feb. 25, the Flames are scheduled to open Big South play, when they face off with Coastal Carolina. The 2 p.m. match will take place in Conway, S.C.